


Just a Little Time

by Cryoprisms



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Au where I am my monster lasted longer, Corrupted Steven Universe, Eventual Fluff, F/F, F/M, My first su fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spoilers for Episode s06e19 I Am My Monster
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryoprisms/pseuds/Cryoprisms
Summary: Steven's corruption was different from the damage the diamonds had caused thousands of years ago. This was something of his own making. The aftermath was different too.This is my take on what happened in and between "I am My Monster" and "The Future".
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for deciding to read my story! I'm new to writing on Ao3 so, if i made any mistakes with tagging, or if you have any critiques of the story/writing, feel free to leave them in the comments! Happy reading!

_ I’m a monster _

He couldn’t hold it in. He was changing faster than he could think. His clothes ripped as he grew larger and larger. He could see the hard scales running up his arms as he gripped his head. Horns burst from his head, forcing his hands away.

He looked away from the ground, his friends and family were still there, all watching him change with varying degrees of horror on their faces.

_ I deserve this, I’m horrible. _

He had to get out, he couldn’t hurt his family. He ran through the front of the house, debris flying everywhere, and his family diving to get out of his way.

_ I’m hurting them already. They’re disgusted by me, they raised me better than this. But look at me now, i’m worse than  _ she  _ ever was. _

He gripped his head again, he could feel himself slipping more and more by the second. His mind was a rushing river of emotion and he was drowning in it. He was afraid of what he was going to become.

_ I did this, I can’t fix this, nobody can fix me. I’m a monster. _

* * *

He stood up, the ground shaking as he turned. He roared. Everything felt wrong. He was wrong. He wasn’t in control anymore. He wasn’t Steven anymore. He was something else. He was a monster. 

He heard voices from below him. His family. He wasn’t their Steven anymore. He didn’t know why they tried to call out to him. He didn’t understand anymore. His thoughts felt like sand slipping through his fingers. Nothing made sense anymore. 

He flexed his spikes and roared at them. Somewhere deep inside, he knew they could help him. He wanted them to leave him alone. All he remembered before now was suffering; he wanted them to know his pain. The pain he still felt like a splinter he couldn’t pull out. He rammed his head into the wall. He’d be their worst nightmare, he’d show them the monster he was now.

He started to climb over the cliff and roared in anger and confusion as something wrapped around his neck forced him away from the cliff. He couldn’t see, he wouldn’t be trapped. He wouldn’t let that happen. He stumbled and backed into the cliff, and he could see again. Before he could do anything else, something hit one of his horns, knocking his head to the side. Two gems, purple and green. They were flying towards the ocean.

They attacked him, of course they would; he was a monster. He roared and chased after them.

He wouldn’t hold back. He almost had them, he was going to make them hurt as much as he did. Cold, wet chains wrapped around him, binding him to the ocean floor. Of course they’d do this. He roared and struggled. He didn’t want this.

Steven noticed a shadow passing over him, something big. More things that wanted him gone. He was still bound to the ocean floor, fear started to fill his chest like butterflies, but he wasn’t going to give up. He started charging up energy. He was going to let them know much he hurt, how much he wanted them to leave him alone. He let out the loudest roar he could muster.

His water chains shattered, and he was free. He still wanted to show them what he was made of, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be trapped again. The water rushed back to its place, and he saw his chance. They were still stunned on the beach, he ran for the nearby town. He could feel the ground shaking behind him, it only pushed him to run for the shore faster. He wouldn’t be trapped again.

As soon as he reached the shore, he dropped down on all fours, and bounded into the town. At first he didn’t know where he was going, he just wanted to get away. Anything was better than that beach.

In the distance Steven could see trees. That's where he was going, they would never find him there. They’d never hurt him again. He reached the forest edge, and continued into the forest, leaping over groups of trees as he escaped the gems.


	2. The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven takes a walk through the forest.

Steven was running. He didn’t know where, he just knew he had to run. The trees grew taller and closer together and the underbrush got thicker the farther he ran. He almost thought he recognized this place. He knocked over more trees as he landed from his bounds. 

Steven’s chest heaved with every breath he took and his muscles burned. He slowed to a stop, and looked around, he wasn’t sure if he had run far enough, but he couldn’t see the town anymore. There were tall spiky trees as far as he could see. Just tall enough that if he walked on all fours, only his spikes would poke above them. Steven knew if he stayed here, they’d find him, so he continued on at a slower pace.

He kept his head low as he walked, he took note of his surroundings. Sunlight streamed through the trees and onto his skin and the ground. His spikes marred trees as he pushed past them, trying not to knock over more than he already had. The less of a trail he left, the less likely he was to be found. He kind of liked this place, it was calm and peaceful.

He turned towards one of the trees he had damaged. Steven knew he could heal, he hoped that his powers still worked. He opened his mouth and licked the length of the tree. The tree glowed and sparkled, but it didn’t heal all the way. The bark regrew over the outside of the tree, but he could still see the deep grooves he left. He let out a low groan and lowered his head, and walked away from the tree.

The birds were chirping above him in the trees, completely unperturbed by the quaking he caused by walking around. Maybe he wasn’t as monstrous as he had thought. He shook his head, they should be afraid, he’d already caused so much damage to their home.  
  
There was an opening in the trees ahead. Steven stepped into the clearing, there was a herd of deer relaxing in the sun, a few were eyeing him through the trees, but they didn’t seem particularly afraid of him. He didn’t understand why, he was a giant pink monster, everyone should be afraid of him. He carefully walked to the other end, the deer didn’t make any move to run, but they watched him closely. Of course they would, he was a predator, a beast, he could end them all in an instant. But yet they didn’t run, he took a step towards them, and then another, and he was right in front of the deer, nothing changed. Maybe he wasn’t as scary as he thought he was. Steven lied down next to the deer, he felt safe here, so maybe this was a good place to rest. The gems wouldn’t find him here for a while, he could keep moving after a nap. His eyes drooped and he fell asleep.

* * *

Steven was startled awake by the ground rumbling. He whipped his head around, and got to his feet. The shaking was only getting stronger by the second, and he could hear something else now.

“STEVEN!” Multiple voices called. He didn’t have time to make a move before he was grabbed by someone just as big as him. He roared and struggled. They had found him again, and he wasn’t getting away this time.

“Steven when I fell apart you were there for me.” The gem hugged Steven closer, “I want to be there for you now. I’m here Steven, I’m here.” His eyes widened, he understood now, this gem, no, Garnet didn’t want to hurt him, she wanted to help him.

“This is working? You hear us?” Called another gem, “STEVEN!” She flew down and hugged him. Lapis, she wanted to help him too! He saw the Diamonds and everyone else coming to give him a hug too; they were all here for him!

“I'm here, Schtuball! Whatever you need, I'll make it happen! You hear me?!” His dad cried.

“STEVEN! You never gave up on me for some reason I don't understand! I'LL DO THE SAME FOR YOU!” Peridot called.

“Steven, I know how awful it feels to keep a part of yourself secret! You shouldn't have to hide anything from me!” Sobbed pearl.

The ground shook a little bit as the cluster emerged and held his hand. Even the cluster was here for him! Lion jumped out of one of his portals, and Connie jumped off of his back with a yell and landed on his nose.

“Steven... you must have been so afraid to show us this side of yourself. But we're not going anywhere.” Connie said softly “ We're all gonna take care of you the same way you take care of us. You know what? I don't have your powers, but..” She kissed the bridge of his nose.

He started to cry, they all wanted to help him, they wanted to be there for him just like he had for them. He started to glow as his powers worked and his vision went white.

When his vision returned to him, Garnet still held him in her arms, she was taller than him now, but they were both still huge. Steven looked at his arms, they were still covered in pink scales and spikes. He still looked like a monster.

He started to cry again, hugging Garnet back as she held him tighter. “It's ok Steven, we’ll get through this together” Garnet whispered. He could feel everyone hugging him back, he didn’t feel so monstrous anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I planned out the majority of this fic over the last few weeks, so hopefully updates will come faster now! At the very least I am trying to get chapters out every two weeks, but I will hopefully be getting them done sooner than that.


	3. The Forest pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gems try to find out how to make Steven human again.

Steven was seated on the forest floor, he watched the Diamonds, Spinel, and the Crystal Gems talk in front of him. Lion lay curled up next to one of his legs. The sun was starting to set. He sniffled a little every now and then, and he still shook from crying earlier. He felt like his soul had been ripped open, showing everyone what he had become. He was exhausted, his limbs were heavy, he’d done a lot since the last time he’d slept well. Connie and his dad sat on his nose comforting him as he waited for them to figure out what to do with him. Some part of him wished that he could help them sort out this mess, but he was pretty glad he wasn’t able to. He didn’t feel like he had it in him to help anyone right now; he shouldn’t be the one helping others after this.

Yellow placed near the edge of the clearing, frowning “He’s clearly back to himself now, but why is he still corrupted?” 

“Steven’s powers were pretty finicky in the past, maybe that’s why he’s still like this” Pearl said, putting her hand against her chin. Steven breathed out of his nose, considering the idea. He really doubted that, his healing powers never seemed to have a limit. That couldn’t be why he was still corrupted.

“I don’t know P, his powers seemed to work just fine a few hours ago” Amethyst responded. She didn’t mention his corruption, and the fact that he still  _ is  _ corrupted as her reasoning, but Steven knew that's what she was referring to. They were trying not to mention his problem in front of him, it reminded him of how Peridot treated Lapis back when they lived in the barn. He understood why they were trying to save his feelings but, he doubted they could make him feel worse than he already did. 

“Maybe his corruption is similar to the others before, maybe he needs all four of us to heal him?” Blue proposed, standing up.

“That might just work, good thinking Blue.” Yellow said as she turned to White, nodding. “White?” White nodded back.

“Steven, we’re going to try to heal you, is that ok?” White asked, slowly approaching him. Steven really didn’t want any of the diamonds close to him right now, he would’ve refused if the situation was different. He didn’t realize he was growling a little until his dad spoke.

“It's ok Schtuball, you don’t have to accept their help if you don’t want to, we’ll find some other way to help you!” said his dad, gently patting his nose.

“Yeah!” Connie said, nodding her head in support. Steven stopped growling, he felt his face heating up a little, looking away from the diamonds. He didn’t know where that came from, he hoped that wouldn’t become a common thing. 

Steven carefully got to his feet, making sure to not move his head too much, he really didn’t want Connie or his dad to fall off, or to accidentally step on Lion. He slowly approached the diamonds holding out one of his arms. White nodded and put her hand on his arm, followed by Blue and Yellow. He closed his eyes. He could feel the Diamond’s power flowing through him, but something felt different from the other times he’d been in contact with the Diamond’s power. Steven felt them pull their hands away, and opened his eyes. He hadn’t changed at all. He felt himself starting to tremble more. They still couldn’t help him.

“That should’ve worked, maybe your powers are the problem” Yellow said as Steven looked away from the Diamonds. He stepped back, his chest was on fire and his eyes were wet.

“Yellow, don’t be so harsh” Blue chided

Small hands rubbed circles into his nose, Connie spoke softly, “It’s ok Steven, even if you stay like this, we’ll still love you! You’ll always be Steven to us, no matter how you look, or who you decide to be!” Steven felt a little better, his breaths slowed down and his trembling slowed a little. He wished he could give his family a hug.

“Yeah, if you stay like this, you can use the carwash as a shower.” His dad said, hugging him as best he could. “ I bet the gems could build you a house that’s big enough for you, we’ll support you as best we can!” Lion pressed against his foot, trying to offer a little comfort.

“I know a place that might work” Said Pearl, “Rose’s Fountain, whether or not Steven’s powers are working, the fountain should be able to heal him, just like the first time we healed the corrupted gems.” Steven wiped the tears out of his eyes, he was careful of his claws. He narrowed his eyes in thought, that might just work, then they could move past this. He hoped it would be that easy, but it probably wouldn’t be.

“How would we get him there?” Peridot asked, “We can’t just walk him back through beach city, and besides, he’s too big to warp!” 

“We’ll need the diamond’s ship, Steven can fit in there.” Garnet responded

“That should work” Said White, turning to the other diamonds “Let's start then, there's no time to waste.” The Diamonds started to head out of the clearing.

Garnet called out to them, “Wait, take Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot with you, you’ll need them!”

Bismuth, Lapis, and Peridot didn’t look too happy about it, but they didn’t protest. Lapis took off while Peridot climbed onto Bismuth's back, and used her ferrokinesis on her armor, and they flew towards the Diamonds. Lapis called back, “Steven! We’ll be back soon!” The gems exited the clearing.

Steven let out a huff and brought his hand up to his nose, allowing his dad and Connie to hop into it. He lowers his hand to the ground and lets them get off. Steven took a few steps back, and attempted to lie down on his back, but his spikes were too big for him to be comfortable. He groaned and curled up on his side, placing his head on his hands and facing his family. His exhaustion was starting to catch up to him again, and his eyes felt heavy. 

Connie walked up to Steven, and sat against his arm. She looked up at him and smiled softly “You’re pretty tired huh?” She paused, and he groaned quietly in response, “Not surprising after all that running you did, you should rest, you need it.” Steven grumbled a little more, he didn’t want to sleep, he wanted to be awake when the others came back. He didn’t want to risk having nightmares right now. Lion walked up and curled up next to Connie.

“Steven, you should rest, we’ll be here when you wake up.” Garnet said as the rest of his family walked up to him and sat down. Steven let out a huff, but relaxed a little bit more, he was pretty tired already, sleep was becoming more enticing by the second. He closed his eyes, maybe he could sleep just for a little bit. The last thing he heard was someone telling him “We love you Steven.”

* * *

Steven was woken up by a loud sound. He groaned and cracked open his eyes, the forest was dark now, and Connie was still leaning on his arm, Lion rested his head on her lap. The rest of his family stood close by, speaking in hushed tones. 

Steven lifted his head up and looked for what caused the noise. It was the Diamond’s ship landing nearby. A voice spoke from below him,“Looks like we’re going soon,” Amethyst said, moving her hair from in front of her face.

“We’re back!” Called White from inside of the ship.

Yellow called out next “Step closer to the ship and we’ll bring you up!” Steven let Connie and Lion stand up before he got to his feet. He let his family go first, following behind them, making sure he didn’t step on them. They stopped near the ship and waited. The bubble appeared and brought them inside of the ship. 

Steven examined the interior of the ship, it was the same as the last time he’d been here except for one thing. The stairs were the same, the colors were the same monotone grey, but the crater was gone. The crater from his- he shook his head, he wasn’t going to think about that now. Steven focused on other things, Yellow and Blue stood on either side of White, Spinel stood on Yellow’s shoulder. Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot stood, talking at the bottom of the stairs. 

The Crystal gems walked over to join the others at the bottom of the stairs. Steven, Connie, and his dad followed after them. He sat down near the others, Connie and his dad stayed close by, and the other Crystal gems moved closer to him too. Lion walked around the room a little before settling next to Steven.

“Everyone ready?” Blue asked, looking over at him and his family. Steven nodded, and everyone else voiced their affirmation.

“We should be at the fountain in one sixth of a rotation.” Yellow announced, “We can’t use all of our thrusters or we’ll exit your planet’s atmosphere, so the journey will be slower than usual.” Steven wasn’t sure how long that was, but he hoped it wasn’t too long. He’d rather get this over with as soon as possible.

White started to glow as she took control of the ship, “We’re leaving now.” The ship rumbled as they took off, this was going to be a long ride.

Peridot started, “Where was I… Oh, right! When we got to the ship, I realized we didn’t know the location of the fountain! So Lapis, Bismuth and I left the ship to go check Steven’s dome!” She rambled “Steven’s base didn’t have the coords, so I said we should go to the moon!”

Bismuth chimed in “I said that there’s no way the diamonds had the coords to that fountain.”

“And then I looked a little more and found them! And that’s how we know where we’re going!”

Steven hadn’t even thought of where the fountain was, he only knew the fountain was somewhere, where, if it was night at home, it was day there. He’d never checked gem locations using his dome, he guessed that when it was built all the structures built by gems were logged on it. He’d never thought about it before, being so caught up in Little Homeschool, and healing stray corrupted gems. 

The gems continued to talk as they made the fly to the fountain. Maybe the flight wouldn’t feel so long with his family here.

* * *

Maybe four hours later, the ship landed, Steven wasn’t sure how long the ride had been. He stood up as the Diamonds announced that they were here. The bubble enclosed him and his family, bringing them outside and setting them on the floor. It returned with the Diamonds a few moments later. He looked up at the sky, the sun was rising, slowly turning the dark night sky into a medium blue. It must be pretty early wherever they were. 

Steven looked towards the fountain, it looked like it always had, from the pink water to the wall surrounding it with a star shaped entrance. He wouldn’t be able to fit through it with his large spikes. He was going to have to float over it unless he wanted to risk damaging it by attempting to fit through the entrance.

He started to walk towards the fountain, carefully stepping around his family. Then he started to run, the exhaustion he felt through the entire trip forgotten. He didn’t want to be like this anymore, and this was his last chance to be human again. He wanted to get it over with, whether the fountain worked or not.

Steven slowed to a stop as he prepared to jump and float over the gate. He crouched and tried to gather any energy he had to float, and he felt his gem activate. 

“Wait! Steven!” Garnet called to him as he jumped. He didn’t jump high or far at all. He only floated for a moment before landing back on the ground, on his stomach, cracking the stone beneath his body. “You’re going to have to climb the wall.” Garnet said as she walked up to him. 

Steven got back to his feet and glanced at her, then stared at his hand. He had long purple claws, he guessed he might be able to make it. He glanced back at Garnet one more time, and she gave him a thumbs up. He walked up to the wall and reached up with one of his clawed hands. His claws sunk easily into the wall. He did the same with his foot and started to climb. He didn’t expect climbing to be so easy, the last time he’d climbed something, it had been significantly harder.

Steven reached the top of the wall, and jumped down, landing hard on the other side, cracking the stone again. Everyone met him on the other side of the wall, the Diamonds were already in the water waiting for him. The pink water had turned clear from the diamonds being in it.

Steven made his way to the fountain edge and stepped in. The water was warm, and almost instantly he felt better. He slowly waded into the deeper water towards the Diamonds, and sat down, letting the water reach just above his gem. It started to glow, and he felt himself changing, his vision went white again.

* * *

Steven found himself in one of Blue’s hands. He felt sluggish, like his entire body was made of lead. He slowly lifted up one of his hands and looked at it, it looked mostly normal. He let his hand drop onto his chest. He noticed he was covered in a blue blanket. He was Steven sized again! He wasn’t stuck being a monster like he thought he would be.

Blue was standing at the edge of the fountain, and his family was standing close by, smiling at him. He tried to stand up, he wanted to give them a hug, but his legs gave out almost instantly. Lion moved closer and caught Steven before he hit Blue’s palm. Steven sucked in a breath as he leaned into Lion. He was much more tired than he felt earlier, becoming human again must’ve taken a lot out of him.

Steven was elated. He was finally himself again! He got his legs under him and hugged Lion. His legs gave out again but he didn’t care. He was just so happy to be human. He felt hot tears well up, and he began to sob into Lion’s mane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thanks for reading!
> 
> This chapter ended up being way longer than I originally intended it to be, but i think it came out pretty good, I hope you enjoyed reading it!


End file.
